Foot and shoe protector



July 7, 1953 w. STERN FOOT AND SHOE PROTECTOR Filed Oct. 27, 1952 Patented July 7, 1953 UNITED STATE '7 Claims.

1 My invention relates to a foot guard of the type adapted to be worn over the usual work shoe, be it an ordinary shoe or a safety shoe, to

protect the feet of the wearer against injury due to falling objects.

One object of the invention is to produce an improved guard of the type set forth.

Another object is to produce an improved guard of the type set forth which will combine maximum strength with minimum weight and size.

A still further object is to produce an improved guard which is durable, neat, adjustable and easy to put on and put off.

These and other objects are attained by my invention as set forth in the following specification and as shown in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a shoe to which my improved guard is applied.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device shown detached from the shoe.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 33 on Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 on Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the guard.

The guard illustrated includes two shells made of a sumciently rigid metallic or synthetic material. The shells are complementary in that they form an enclosure for the front portion of the shoe. Each of the shells includes a body portion H3 which is arched or dished about as shown 1 in Fig. 3 and each of the shells has a bottom, in-

turned flange I2 adapted to engage the bottom of the sole 14 of the shoe. The upper edges it of the shells slidably engage oppositely facing recesses of a horizontally disposed H-shaped member I8 which extends from the tip of the guard to its rearmost edge. The shells ID are provided, near the juxtaposed edges with spaced apertures through a tape, a lace or, preferably, endless elastic loops are passed so as to draw and retain the edges of the shells in substantially the position shown in Fig. 3. The H- shaped member is provided, near its rear edge, with a loop 22 through which a strap 24 having an adjustable buckle 24 is passed. The strap is adapted to be passed beneath the shank of the shoe as best shown in Fig. 1. If desired, additional loops 26 may extend rearwardly from the rear edges of the guard through which the strap 22 is also passed. Thus, the strap 22 serves not only to locate or secure the guard at the desired point but it also serves to tighten the guard around the shoe circumferentially speaking. Also the guards are preferably provided with suitably spaced, symmetrical apertures through which a heavy cord or a shoe lace 28 is passed to lace the guard in much the same manner that a shoe is laced.

One piece and two piece guards have heretofore been suggested but the average worker finds such guards too heavy, too clumsy, or too difficult to put on and adjust that most workmen generally avoid using such guards. By my improved construction, I have produced a guard which is light, compact and easy to put on or off and one which is readily adjustable. Also, the inturned flanges i2 serve to counteract the tendency of the guard members to separate understress or impact. The shells [0 are preferably ribbed so as to increase their impact and stress resisting capacity.

It will be noted that the flanges l2 extend over substantially the entire bottom surface of the foot so that the weight of the person will serve to prevent the shells H) from spreading outwardly during walking. It will also-be noted that the inner edges 13 of the flanges are spaced somewhat so as to afford a little play and avoid the danger of buckling which may exist if the edges were abutting instead of being spaced.

What I claim is:

1. A safety guard for protecting the forepar of a shoe, said guard comprising a pair of shells each adapted to enclose substantially one-half of the forepart of the shoe with the meeting edges of said shells substantially coinciding with the median line of the instep of the shoe, said shells having longitudinally spaced opening near their meeting edges, and a flexible element engaging said openings for pulling the meeting edges of said shells toward each other.

2. The structure recited in claim 1 in which said flexible element is elastic.

3. The structure recited in claim 1 and an elongated member overlapping the meeting edges of said shells.

4. The structure recited in claim 3 in which said member is provided with recesses along its opposite edges for slidably receiving the juxtaposed edges of said shells.

5. The structure recited in claim 1 together with at least one loop carried by the rear edge of one of said shells, and a strap passing through said loop and adapted to be passed around the forepart of the shoe to fasten said safety device of the shoe, and means for securing said shells together to the shoe.

WILLIAM STERN.

No references cited. 

